Vole: field mice, how they winter and how to protect crops from rodents, description and photo Russian farmer

Field mouse: description

Description of the field mouse:

Body length no more than 12 cm, excluding tail. The thin tail makes up 70% of the body length.
The body is oblong. The hind feet are elongated and protrude forward when running.
Long muzzle, small round ears, oblong nose.

The fur is hard, rough, short. The colors can be different - gray, brown, ocher or beige. A straight line of black or brown shade runs along the spine. The color of the abdomen is snow-white. At the base the hairline has a dark tint. Small spots may be present on the chest.

This is interesting! The shade of the animal's fur depends on its age. The older the field mouse, the lighter its fur. With age, the dark base of the hairline begins to lighten. Individual hairs may be gray.

The vole mouse has unique teeth ; a pair of long incisors on the lower jaw grow throughout its life. To prevent their excessive growth, and they grow at a rate of 1-2 mm per day, the mouse is forced to continuously grind them off against hard objects.

As for weight, the average animal does not weigh more than 20 grams.

How do they tolerate frost?

The mouse, like most rodents, cannot boast of large body sizes, so it is difficult for it to maintain a normal temperature.

To regulate this indicator, they try to generate more internal heat. The stronger the frost, the more heat the body produces.

If a rodent's vital activity decreases, this can lead to death . If the body is cooled for a long time, then nutrients begin to be rapidly consumed.

And those supplies that fill winter pantries are usually not able to make up for the resulting shortage.

Photo

How do they reproduce?

Breeding mice in captivity and breeding rodents in the wild have many similarities and differences. Due to their low life expectancy, it is physiologically designed in such a way that puberty in furry cats occurs quickly.

The period of their development from birth to maturity is 1-1.5 months. After this period, the female is already able to become pregnant.

But at this stage there is no guarantee that the offspring will be healthy and the offspring of the mouse may turn out to be frail and sick and will not live long.

Therefore, breeders are recommended to mate rodents no earlier than 2-3 months after birth; it is better if the mother is already 6 months old. The reproduction of mice in the wild is difficult to control, so early fertilization is possible.

So how long does the entire sexual cycle last in mice? Only 2-9 days. Then comes the heat, lasting 12 hours. It is during this period that the female’s behavior changes greatly; she arches her back in front of the male, becomes nervous and excitable.

Males, in turn, send ultrasonic impulses that can attract an individual of the opposite sex.

Sexual activity or estrus resumes immediately after the birth of the offspring. If the female does not feed the babies, she can become pregnant within a couple of days.

When feeding offspring, estrus occurs only 2-4 days after the babies are weaned. In this case, on average, about 3 weeks pass after birth.

Phases of the sexual cycle

The sexual cycle of mice lasts about a week. It is at these intervals that a mouse can be fertilized.

This period can be divided into 4 phases:

Upon reaching childbearing age, the vaginal epithelium begins to divide.
After 48-60 hours, the number of cells increases significantly.
The mouse enters estrus. This usually happens between 22:00 and 1:00 am. The duration of estrus is 12-15 hours.
After fertilization, an inguinal plug appears. It consists of scales and seeds of the inguinal whip. After a day, the additional layer dissolves. This is exactly as much as is necessary to protect the female from re-fertilization by another male.

Taking into account the length of pregnancy after successful fertilization, you can calculate the period before the appearance of a litter of mice.

Before mating, individuals change their diet to sprouted grains and greens. This allows you to control your weight and prevent you from gaining excess weight, since obesity interferes with conception.

How many mice are in the litter

It is impossible to know in advance how many pups a house mouse will give birth to. This can be either 1 or 15 rodents. Therefore, it is difficult to say how many mice are born at one time. On average this is about 5-9 individuals.

Not all newborn mice are strong and viable. These are the animals that the female can eat.

If the male is not removed in a timely manner, he helps eliminate weak individuals, but then he can also take on healthy offspring, so after mating it is better to put him in a separate cage.

Distribution of animals

This representative of the fauna is widespread in Europe. Animals can also be found in China, Mongolia, Denmark, Finland, Korea, and Taiwan. In the Russian Federation, the rodent is distributed in Primorye, Siberia, and the Urals. Often settles on the hills, climbs low into the mountains.

Found near the Black and Azov Seas. Does not like deserted forest-steppes and continuous forests. It takes root well in moist interfluves .

It prefers overgrown meadows with small depressions, collective farm fields, sunny edges of deciduous forests and, of course, vegetable gardens. It can be found in greenhouses, greenhouses, cellars, barns, abandoned utility sheds and even in residential premises.

IMPORTANT! With the onset of autumn, rodents move into stacks, haystacks, and stacks of straw.

How do mice reproduce: how are they born, how often do they reproduce, how many mice at one time?

Not only breeders, but also rodent fighters need to know how mice reproduce and how long they live. Cute domestic animals and terrifying street dwellers, under favorable conditions, are able to reproduce all year round.

Only at sub-zero temperatures does the female stop estrus and the males are not interested in her. An individual gives birth to about 10 cubs at a time, and the next litter may appear 1-2 months after the previous one.

During this period, the babies grow up and are able to become fertilized themselves.

Reproduction

The breeding season for the vole mouse is from early spring to mid-autumn. In one season, the animal is capable of producing 3-4 offspring . In rare cases, up to 5-6. Gestation of the cubs lasts 21-23 days. One litter usually produces 5-7 babies.

Babies are born helpless and blind, but they develop very quickly.:

12-14 days after birth they begin to see clearly.
30 days after birth they become independent.
Young individuals are capable of giving birth to cubs within 90-105 days after birth.

How long does a field mouse live? The lifespan of a field mouse can reach 7 years, but in the wild the animals usually live for a year or two.

Now imagine how quickly rodents can multiply in just one summer season, provided there is an abundance of food and sun.

Wintering for mice - optimal places

The ideal winter home for any mouse would be a human home or outbuildings where there is access to food. Unfortunately, for this tribe, not all of its representatives manage to shelter so well during the cold season.

In nature, voles are attracted to winter crops, especially if the first shoots appeared before the frost. In such conditions, even with minimal supplies, animals do not starve.

Therefore, in the southern regions, offspring often appear in burrows where mice live in winter. In the northernmost regions, breeding is rare at this time of year.

Lifestyle

In summer and spring, field mice are active in the evening and at night. In autumn and winter they can be active during the day. They do not hibernate.

How mice and voles overwinter:

Natural shelters or earthen passages can be used as burrows.
Their burrows reach 3-4 m in length and have 2-4 exits, one of which leads to a watering hole.
Dwellings must have a nesting chamber and 2-3 pantries in which winter supplies are stored.
The storerooms are located at a depth of 0.5-1 m.

IMPORTANT! Rodents that live in swampy areas do not dig burrows. They build nests. The main material is grass. Such dwellings are usually located on tall bushes.

Do mice sleep in winter?

Rodentologists can easily explain whether mice sleep in winter. In fact, no, they do not hibernate. They are active all year round.

Moreover, some species even breed under the snow in winter. But some species of voles still sleep in winter and wake up when it gets warmer.

A mink serves as their bedroom. Beneficial substances begin to accumulate in the summer. During the warm period, they store fat, which is consumed in winter.

Distinctive features

Vole mice have their own characteristics that are distinctive from other rodents.:

Depending on their habitat (eastern and western), individuals have different colors and sizes.
It differs from other rodents by the presence of a smooth stripe along the spine.
Unlike mice, it has a larger body size.
It differs from the Dahurian hamster in its longer tail.
Unlike pieds, it has a longer period of puberty - about 100 days.
Compared to other subspecies of rodents, the field mouse has an underdeveloped ear.
Field mice have coarser fur. And adult individuals often develop soft spines, like hedgehogs.
Field mice belong to the mobile subspecies. They are characterized by seasonal feeding movements.
May be common in swampy areas. At the same time, they use grass nests as burrows.

Very often, other species of mammals that look similar to voles are mistaken for mice. The most common types of rodents that resemble mice in appearance are :

Earth rat. Despite this name, this animal actually belongs to the mouse family, but differs from voles in its larger size.
Mole voles. Lives underground and belongs to the hamster family.

And also rodents from the vole family:

Yellow and steppe variegated. They are similar in appearance to mice, but have a number of distinctive features. Read more about pestles here.
Red and bank voles. Forest dwellers, differing from the field ones in the color of their fur coat.
Housekeeper vole. This species lives in colonies and is capable of making significant, up to 15 kg, reserves for the winter.
Gray vole.

Read about different types of voles here.

Types of winter sleep in mice

Many mammals, instead of making large reserves of food for the entire unfavorable period, prefer to fall into torpor (hibernation).

Most often this is due to insufficient quantities or complete lack of access to feed supplies. Most often this applies to frosty winters, but some species also practice this during summer drought.

Tropical animals do not face this problem, since food supplies are always available there . In the tundra, mammals also do not hibernate, since this period would last unreasonably long.

If conditions become particularly unfavorable (increasing frost, snow storm), some species of animals do not leave their nests for 2-3 days, sleeping there throughout this entire period.

Hibernation is a process that requires careful preparation. Moreover, this applies not only to external manipulations, but also to internal physiological processes.

Special mechanisms are launched that are necessary to prepare and adapt the body to the upcoming difficult seasons.

Before hibernation, organisms accumulate fat in the subcutaneous tissue or body cavities. The tissues are filled with vitamin C, vitamin E and glycogen are stored in the liver.

Animals look for a suitable place or build shelters for further hibernation. An excellent wintering place for bats is caves. Bears build dens for themselves, and rodents make winter burrows for themselves.

There are 3 types of winter sleep:

Bears, badgers, raccoons, and raccoon dogs go into hibernation. In sleeping individuals, the intensity of breathing acts decreases, blood circulation slows down, and body temperature drops by 2-7 °C. If such an animal is disturbed, it quickly and easily awakens. How long the winter sleep will be depends on environmental conditions, as well as on the ability to eat something.
True hibernation (numbness). Animals emerge from it when the ambient temperature rises. Such animals stop breathing intensively, their blood circulation slows down. Body temperature drops to critical levels, the ability to respond to stimuli (sounds, touches) is lost. Such animals wake up slowly during prolonged thaws, after which they even try to feed: bats catch living insects in caves, hamsters or chipmunks eat previously collected supplies.
Real uninterrupted hibernation (anabiosis). The numbness with this type of sleep is even deeper. The frequency of respiratory acts, blood circulation decreases by 10-20 times, metabolic processes slow down by 20-40 times. Even strong irritants (noise, pain) or a short increase in temperature do not provoke awakening. During the period of suspended animation, 30-40% of body weight is lost. First of all, fat reserves are used up. Hedgehogs, some species of bats, and many rodents (marmots, gophers) go into suspended animation.

None of the above applies to voles. They don't tend to hibernate. These rodents are well prepared for the winter.

Only an insufficient supply of food can have a detrimental effect on voles during frosts. Rodents spend the period of severe cold in their nests, and appear outside only when there is a thaw.

Ways to fight and protect

The main difficulty in the fight against field mice is that they live in places hidden from human eyes. This means that catching or poisoning them is quite problematic. Therefore, the primary task in the fight against voles is the need to find and destroy their housing . You can do this in the following ways.

We drive mice away from the territory

First of all, you need to try to drive rodents out of the area:

Mow tall grass, remove dry leaves and weeds. You also need to get rid of branches and piles of plant debris. All of these are great places to build burrows.
Fruits that have fallen from the tree should not remain on the site, as they are an easily accessible source of food for voles.
Digging up the area can help get rid of holes and underground passages.
To prevent rodents from damaging fruit trees, a fine mesh net is dug into the ground around the trunks. The same can be done around the perimeter of the entire site.

We use repellers

The use of special repellent devices can speed up the process of expelling voles from your territory. They are installed around the perimeter of the site and provide protection from moisture.

We use mousetraps

Ordinary mousetraps can also help in the fight against mice. Experienced gardeners recommend installing these devices on the site in early spring and late autumn , since it is at this time that mice reproduce most actively. To prevent harm to pets, mouse traps can be covered with a box; this will not stop mice in pursuit of the bait.

We use poisons

At the end of winter and beginning of spring, the use of poisons is very effective. At this time, mice are hungry and not very picky about food. Poisons are placed directly in burrows.

How do rodents winter?

The wintering conditions of rodents depend on the living conditions of their mouse species. For example, the life of a house mouse in the cold season is noticeably different for the better than the existence of a vole. This is especially true in years when frosts last a long time.

voles

Voles in natural conditions are saved by snow in winter. Under its cover, the cold is not felt so strongly, and deep burrows generally allow you to wait out low temperatures in a comfortable environment, without going to the surface. Problems arise if food supplies suddenly run out.

For example, for some reason in the fall I had to leave my home due to a natural disaster. Then they strive to move closer to the person. In barns, animal rooms, and vegetable stores there is always something to profit from.

In extreme cases, both tree bark and bush branches will help mice survive the winter. But this will be a severe test for rodents.

House mice

The habits of animals that have settled next to humans are noticeably different from their wild counterparts. The main difference is that house mice, unlike voles, do not need to fill their bins for the winter. Usually they make do with a small supply while feeding their offspring.

Nests are created under floors, in wall insulation, in basements and attics. The main food suppliers for them in summer, and especially in winter, are humans. In the city, these rodents feed on waste from garbage chutes and trash cans. When making your way into the apartment, you won’t miss cereals, meat products, and animal feed. By making their home close to a food source, they will not be subject to seasonal fluctuations and are ready to breed all year round.

How to get rid of field mice in the house?

If you have mice in your home, use time-tested, traditional methods.:

Mousetraps. At the same time, do not forget about safety measures so that people and pets do not get hurt.
Repellers. Special devices are safe for people and pets, but have a negative effect on mice.
Poisons can be used if all precautions are taken.
Cat. The most effective, proven and safe “remedy” for mice. If you don't have a cat at home, borrow one from friends for a while.

Thus, it is quite possible to get rid of mice on your property or in your house. It is enough to create unbearable living conditions for them. And to prevent voles from appearing again, prevention is needed - maintaining cleanliness in the area, timely removal of plant debris and food waste.

Preparing a vole for cold weather

Rodents begin to prepare for cold weather in advance, since there is a lot to do. These animals inexplicably can foresee what winter will be like. People have long noticed that if rodents begin to appear in large numbers in the house and outbuildings in the fall, then expect severe frosts.

In warmer years, voles may build nests in haystacks or dig burrows 1–3 meters deep. And if the summer housing options for these rodents have a more complex layout, then the winter one is noticeably simpler. Although everything here is very thought out.

Branched passages lead to the nest, where the offspring will be born, to chambers with food supplies, and access to water. To insulate the home, animal wool or fluff collected from bushes, moss, and dry grass are used.

If living conditions become completely unfavorable, mice can fall into a kind of hibernation, but this state does not last long, since their metabolism is not designed for a long period of feeding on subcutaneous fat.

How foxes prepare for winter

Preparation for winter begins with insulating your fur coat. Their fur becomes thick, fluffy, and bright. It perfectly protects them from severe frosts. Foxes live in burrows all year round. Often the place for digging a hole is some kind of hill. So that the fox could survey the entire forest. If she has moved far from her hole and a strong snowstorm begins, the fox may temporarily settle in another abandoned hole. Before returning to the hole, she carefully covers her tracks. The fox does not stock up for the winter, but regularly goes hunting. Its prey most often are rodents. In the absence of meat, she can eat berries or vegetables found. Nature has it this way that in winter, foxes have a reduced metabolism. Subcutaneous fat is wasted on keeping them warm in severe frosts. Fluffy paws allow foxes to move silently when hunting prey. The fox is resistant to severe frosts.

How bears prepare for winter

With the arrival of autumn, the bear is puzzled by finding and preparing housing for the winter. An ideal den would be a crevice in the mountain, a hole in the ground. He carefully insulates it with branches, leaves, moss, etc. Before hibernating, the bear eats subcutaneous fat at an accelerated pace. This fat is gradually lost throughout the winter. During a thaw, a bear may wake up for several days and begin searching for food.

Wild animals prepare for and survive winter in different ways. Some people live through severe frosts on the move, others sit them out by hiding in their homes, while others hibernate. Nature has wisely distributed features to all animals.

The winter season is a difficult period for fauna inhabitants. Especially when the ground is covered with snow, those animals that were looking for food there simply cannot get to it. This is exactly what happens because of the cold weather, food becomes inaccessible, and animals also want to eat. There is a need to create reserves.\r\n\r\n \r\n

\r\nOf course, the first animal worth mentioning is the bear.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nEven though this animal accumulates a sufficient layer of fat, it cannot do without reserves. He makes them at the bases of trees, rhizomes or in his den to refresh himself before and after hibernation. These can be nuts, larvae, bulbs. It is worth noting that the bear is an omnivore. Sometimes they “steal” food from chipmunks and other large rodents, and in rare cases they even kill the animal itself.\r\n\r\nNext on the list is the squirrel, it simply buries or hides nuts in a hollow.\r\n\ r\n \r\n\r\nOf course, other rodents also have the most food for the winter: mice, moles, minks, hamsters (this habit can be observed if you have this animal at home). Hedgehogs, although they also fall into “winter sleep,” will put aside some fruits, mushrooms or insects “in reserve.”\r\n\r\nThe insects themselves also stock up for the winter. First of all, these are bees.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTheir harvest consists of a huge amount of honey, from which they take all the necessary substances for survival during the cold period, so people have the opportunity to feast on them food. Experienced beekeepers, in order to prevent their bees from starving to death, when the bulk of the food has been taken from them, “feed” them with a solution of sugar. Wasps lay eggs in immobilized caterpillars for the winter, and gall flies simply feed their children with their own flesh.\r\n\r\nPredators such as stoats and weasels lay the results of their hunt - small rodents - for the winter. Beavers, for example, eat food from branches; they simply hide it in the water for the winter, or in extreme cases, near a reservoir.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBirds such as shrikes dry their prey ( small insects, larvae, beetles) right on tree branches, they use trowels to prick food onto the sharp ends of the branches. The hay stand dries its hay for the winter.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt is not for nothing that woodpeckers gouge out many small holes in the tree. In addition to the fact that they get food from these holes, they put what they cannot eat right away or need to “save” directly there. The mole operates on the same principle, only for this purpose it builds underground tunnels for itself (quite intelligent animals, before hiding the worm for the winter, the mole rips off its head).

Do they stock up for the winter?

A field mouse builds from 1 to 3 burrows. The burrows are very simple and can be connected by corridors. Near them, the rodent builds storerooms, where it brings supplies for the winter. Usually, these supplies quickly run out, and then the mouse is forced to move closer to human habitation. Storerooms can be destroyed by predatory animals.

What foods does a vole store for the winter?

Vole in winter:

Voles are small but very voracious animals. They usually live in meadows and fields, moving closer to humans in autumn and winter. They gnaw tree bark, gnaw roots, eat seeds. They damage crops and carry dangerous diseases.

Is the vole an omnivore?

The vole can be called an omnivorous rodent. This is due to the fact that in spring and summer the mouse eats only what it finds in its habitat (nuts, berries, plants and insects). After the onset of cold weather, the vole moves closer to humans. It can be:

Warehouses;
Attics of houses;
Cellars.

In these places, individuals feed on winter supplies and cereals. In human dwellings, the vole does not have to choose its diet, so it eats everything it can get. These could be products such as:

Rodent control

If rodents are not constantly controlled, their numbers can lead to the loss of most of the crop. As a rule, rodent control is carried out in various ways, including traditional ones, without the use of chemicals that can harm the environment.

You will learn how mice prepare for winter in this article.

How do mice prepare for winter?

Vole bears living in the wild begin to prepare for the onset of cold weather from the end of summer. We all know that with the onset of winter, an unexpected guest in the guise of a mouse may appear at home. She probably became too lazy to prepare for winter, and she decided to make her task easier - to settle in a human dwelling. Well, it’s warm and there’s something to eat. But what if a mouse lives in a field?

First of all, the mouse begins to expand its hole - it expands the “bedroom”, as it will insulate it and dig out new storage rooms for winter supplies. They spend the entire winter period in a mink. They insulate their bedroom with dry grass, moss, hairs and fluff. The animal itself also changes - the fur changes color and becomes thicker. And the body accumulates nutrients and fats. It is worth noting that the body temperature of mice in winter can drop to the temperature of an icicle, but they do not die.

The mouse begins to carry food supplies for the winter into its pantries. It can be grains, seeds, dried fruits or grass. It happens that up to 5 kg of grain was found in mouse holes! These mice are such thrifty housewives.

We hope that from this article you learned how mice prepare for winter.

Author: Maria Sukhorukikh
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Prevention measures

Cats and dogs will help prevent field mouse attacks in the fall. Also, if owls have chosen your yard, you should not drive them away. If the garden is full of holes, you can loosen the soil more often and disturb their tunnels, then the mice will begin to look for other places to store food for the winter.

You should not litter the yard with rags, or the garden with branches and garbage, or heaps of leaves. Only by approaching the problem in a comprehensive manner can voles be repelled.

Field mice can cause significant damage to crops during the growing period; they are also dangerous when settling in warehouses and cellars in winter.

Good to know!

Centuries-old practice has taught people to deal with annoying neighbors. Preventive measures and simple actions can easily get rid of rodents in the house. Sometimes, simply by spreading garlic and ash, you can scare away unwanted visitors.

In winter, wild animals have a hard time. Everyone has their own plan for how to survive the winter; they prepare for severe frosts in different ways. Someone is stocking up on food, someone is changing clothes, and someone is preparing a warm home for themselves.

Benefits and harms

The vole is a very prolific animal. During the year, the female gives birth to offspring 3-4 times. Sexual maturity in field mice occurs as early as 2 months, and the average life expectancy is 2 years. If these rodents are not controlled, they can destroy huge amounts of crops and damage your home and garden.

What other harm do voles cause?

The peculiarity of these mice is the growth of teeth throughout their lives. If you don't grind them down, your teeth grow to a decent size. Voles can chew even a wooden beam.
If a field mouse settles in the garden, it can significantly damage shrubs and trees by gnawing the bark.
The vole feeds on berries, so it can significantly reduce their yield.

The benefit of such mice is that it feeds on insects and their larvae, which can harm fruit and berry trees. Field mice are also participants in the food chain. These individuals are food for the following animals and birds :

What does it eat?

What are the food preferences of a rodent, since it chews literally everything that comes its way? He is capable of even such addictions that are difficult to even imagine. They chew holes in wooden, concrete or brick structures. Their diet includes products made from foam, plastic or rubber, as well as products from other synthetic materials.

It is not difficult to assume that such interest is associated with the growth of the rodent’s front teeth. As food, mammals prefer grains, seeds and succulent parts of various plants, including young shoots, seedlings, vegetables and fruits. They often supplement their diet with worms, insects, eggs and chicks.

In a person’s home, the vole mouse spoils any food products, but does not disdain grain, bulk food products, vegetables, fruits, meat, lard, sausage, etc.

Interesting to know! The vole mouse stores for the winter if it is in the field, and during the winter it eats everything that it managed to collect during the warm period. As for other representatives of this family that were able to gain access to human reserves, they do not care about supplies for the winter. The rodent stores for itself for the winter food items that are edible. In this case, the amount of reserves depends on the size of the mink.

During the day, the mouse eats no more than 5 g of food and drinks up to 20 ml of liquid. Instead of water, rodents consume succulent parts of plants. Around mid-summer, the animal begins to make supplies for the winter.